Advent has begun. What can you do between now and Christmas Day to enter into this season so as to receive the rich graces and blessings this season offers us?
Pray. This should be the obvious first step! If you have a habit of prayer, then give some of that time to pray that specifically focuses on Advent. If you pray in the morning or mid-day, spend the first few minutes reflecting on how Jesus came to you in the persons and events of the previous day. If you pray in the evening, reflect on how Jesus entered your life that day. How did Jesus reveal his presence in the persons and events of my day? If you do not have a habit of prayer, then start with five minutes of prayer each day and use those five minutes to reflect on how either Jesus entered your life the previous day, or the day that is ending. As you grow in faithfulness to this prayer, you should find that you want to spend more time in prayer. Let your prayer grow in length as the Spirit leads you. Advent is a season in which we seek to grow in our ability to recognize Jesus Christ as he comes to us in prayer, in scripture, in the sacraments, and in the ordinary persons and events of our daily lives.
Be the presence of Christ for others. Christ seeks to enter our world daily and desires to do so most especially in and through his disciples. How can you be the incarnation of Christ for someone else this day and every day of Advent? Call that person who is sick or alone. Bring a meal to an elderly person who is alone. Volunteer in a program that serves those in need, or that provides mentors to young people. Make a contribution to Catholic Relief Services or the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) to assist them in their work with refugees in the Middle East. Pray for someone who is confronting significant problems in his or her life. Every day, we can be the incarnation of Christ in the world in which we live.
If you spend the next four weeks seeking to be faithful to these two simple practices, then when Christmas comes you will experience the great gift of Christ’s presence with and in you.